Flying machine



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FLYING MACHINE Filed D80. 29, 1927 6 sheets sheet l M. BEIRNSTEIN1,726,208

FLYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 'li v erzlfvi"JZZor/wBer/wtzm Aug. 27, 1929. M. BERNSTEIN 1,726,208

I FLYING. MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 27, 192 9.BERNSTEIN 1,726,203

FLYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1927 e Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 27, 1929. M.BERNSTEIN FLYING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 29, 1927 Inavzazg-27, 1929- M. BERNSTEIN 1,726,208

FLYING MACHINE I Filed Dec. 29, 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 .b' if PatentedAug. 27, 1929.

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STATES PATENT OFFKJE.

FLYING MACHINE.

Application filed December 29, 1927. Serial No. 243,299.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in flying machines,and has for its object to so construct such a machine as to give greatstability in flying and to so locate the propellers and apply the powerthereto that great speed may be obtained with the least expenditure ofenergy.

A further object of my invention is to provide against the tendency forsuch a 1'0 machine to side slip or turn over and to increase itsbuoyancy.

A still further object of my invention is to lessen the tendency to fallshould the motor become disabled.

WVith these ends in view, this invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements set forth and then specificallydesignated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describeits construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this application, in which I Fig. 1, is aperspective of a flying machine made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2, is a plan view of the machine.

Fig. 3, is a side elevation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4, is a diagrammatical view illustrating the driving mechanism forthe auxiliary propellers.

Fig. 5, is a side view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6, is an end view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7, is an edge view of the transmission housing on an enlargedscale.

Fig. 8, is a'plan view of Fig. 7 the upper half of the transmissionhousing being removed.

Fig. 9, is a rear view of Fig. 8 showing the fuselage in section toillustrate the manner of positioning and securing the transmissionhousing thereto.

Fig. 10,

is an enlarged side elevation partly in section of one of the upperhollow wings and one of the air pontoons.

wise steering vane 2 and the vertical steer- Fig. 11, 1s a detail viewof the shutter In carrying out my invention as herein ing vanes 3 andlikewise the usual running gear consisting of the wheels- 4 and the skid5 carried by said fuselage.

6 represents the transmission casing which is preferably made in halvesto enclose the transmission shaft 7, the counter shaft 8 and the gearscarried by the shafts, and this casing is braced by the strut wires 9and 10. This casing is secured to the fuselage by brackets 11 in anysuitable manner while the cross-wise sections of the casing extendthrough the side walls thereof in order that the auxiliary propellerhubs 12 may be positioned at a suflicient distance from the sides of thefuselage to allow due clearance for the auxiliary propellers, 12 7 Theforward end of the casing is provided with the flange 13 for seourementto either the engine casing 14 or the forward end of the fuselage, whilethe forward end of the shaft 7 is provided with a suitable member 15 forcoupling to the engine shaft carrying the main propeller 16.

The rear end of the shaft 7 has secured thereon a beveled gear 17 whichmeshes with the beveled gear 18 secured upon'the counter shaft 8, whilea beveled gear 19 is mounted upon each end ofthe counter shaft, theselast mentioned gears meshing with the beveled gears 20 secured upon theauxiliary propeller shafts 21.

By this arrangement the main propeller and auxiliary propellers arecaused to revolve in unison at the desired speeds.

22, 23, 24 and 25 represent the wings of the machine, the former beingpositioned beneath the'fuselagewhile the wing23 is positioned just abovethe fuselage and has a cut-away portion 26 to give clearance to theoperator entering, leaving or occupying the cockpit, the opening ofwhich latter is indicated at 27. The wing 25 has its top and bottomwalls bowed outward as clearly shown in Fig. 10. to form a chamber 28while presenting a relatively sharp front edge to the wind and acorresponding rear edge for facilitating the off-flow of the aircurrents. This wing 25 has mounted thereon the air pontoons 29, hereshown as three in number, and so positioned as to stabilize the machineagainstside swaying; the front and rear ends of these pontoons coming topoints to more readily permit their passage through the air at highspeed, and openings 30 provide communication between the interior of thewing 25 and these pontoons.

Each of the pontoons has a multiple valve seat 31 in the top thereofthrough which air may flow from the interior to the atmosphere, and 32represents one. of the valves for closing upon its seat; it beingunderstood that there is a valve seat and. a valve for each of thepontoons, and each of these valves is hinged at 33 and is adapted to beclosed by the spring 34 and the opening of each of the valves is underthe control of the operator ofthe machine through the flexible wire orcord 34 attached to the valve and passeddownward in any suitable mannerinto close proximity to the operators seat.

Leading downward from the wing 25 are three spouts 35 so located thatthe upper end of each spout will lie beneath the opening 30 of one ofthe pontoons, while the lower end of each of these spouts is open to theair in the direction of the forward movement of the machine, and withineach of these lower ends, is pivoted the double valve or shutter 36, oneleaf of the shutter having the lever 37 secured thereto, while the otherleaf of the shutter has the lever 38 attached thereto. These levers 37are connected by the rod 39 while the levers 38 are connected by the rod40 so that the spring 41 will normally keep all of the shutters closed,the central lever 38 being connected to the rod 40 to accomplish thispurpose.

42 represents a flexible wire or cord which leads from within easy reachof the operator over the pulley 43 carried by the central lever 37 andis attached at 44 to the central lever 38 so that by drawing upon thiswire, all of the shutters will be open simultaneously, thus opening thelower ends of the spouts 35 to the inflow of air.

By the use and arrangement of the multiple wings 22, 23, 24 and 25 andthe proper bracing of the same by the stay wires 45 and 46, anexceedingly rigld structure 1S produced presenting large aeroplanesurfaces Without undue length of wings and by mounting the pontoons uponthe upper wing the machine is. more readily held in its course, saidpontoons acting after the manner of the keel of a boat, and by arrangingthe auxiliary propellers as shown relative to the main propeller afurther tendency to the maintenance of a steady course is provided andthe power of the engine more sufficiently exerted for the drivingforward of the machine; consequently elfecting greater speed with agiven engine capacity.

The particular construction and arrangement of the transmission casing,not only sustains the stress incident to the action of the propellers,but also strengthens the fuselage, and this is of considerableimportance in high speed flying machines.

When the machine is flying and the shutter 36 and valve 32 closed,atmospheric pressure will be maintained within the wing 25, but when itis desired to change this pressure within these members, the opening ofthe shutters 36 will permit the inflow of air thereby increasing thepressure within the spouts, wing and pontoons provided the valves 32 areclosed. When it is desired to release this pressure, the closing of theshutters and the opening of the valves 32 will accomplish this result;on the other hand, when the shutters and valves are closed and air drawnfrom the wing, spouts and pontoons by any suitable means, a pressurevacuum will be created within these members, thus tending to give themachine buoyancy and prevent the sudden or rapid falling of the same,thereby preventing serious accidents and loss of life.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction as herein shown, as these may be varied within the limitsof the appended claims without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis 1. A flying machine comprising a fuselage; a transmission casinglocated within the fuselage and secured thereto in such manner as tostrengthen said fuselage, the cross-wise portion of said casingextending through the side of the fuselage; auxiliary propeller shaftsmounted in the outer ends of the casing; a power shaft extending fromthe engine through the length-wise portion of the casing; a countershaft extending through the side wise portion of the casing, gearsadapted to transmit power from the power shaft to the counter shaft;gears carried by the counter shaft for transmitting power to theauxiliary propeller shafts; means for coupling the power shaft to theengine, a main propeller adapted to be revolved by the engine; awing'positioned below the fuselage; a series of wings positioned abovethe fuselage, the top most of said last-mentioned wings being hollow; aseries of pontoons mounted upon the top most wings; and means forvarying the pressure of air within said top most wings and pontoons.

2. In combination with a multiple wing flying machine, a hollow wing; aseries of pontoons mounted upon said wing; openings establishingcommunications between said wing and pontoons; a series of spoutsleading downward from the hollow wing, their lower ends opening in thedirection of flight of the machine; a multiple shutter mounted withinthe open end of each spout; means for opening and closing said shuttersin unison; a valve seat located in the top of each of the pontoons;multiple trolled chutes leading to said Wing and valves adapted to closeupon said seats; and valve controlled openings in one of the Walls meansfor opening and closing said valves. of each of the pontoons, saidpontoons and 10 3. In a flying machine, a hollow Wing, Wing being incommunication. 5 pontoons mounted on said Wing, and means In testimonywhereof, I have hereunto for varying the pressure of air Within saidaffixed my signature. Wing and pontoons comprising valve con- MORRISBERNSTEIN.

